Support the Community Shares program, a collaboration between The Athens Community Farm and the Gang Greene Farmer Alliance, bringing food from local farmers to the communities they serve. In 2023 we raised over $10K to purchase produce and dairy from four Greene County farms for 22+ weekly deliveries to pantries in Athens, Catskill, and Coxsackie. We are hoping to increase our impact in both funding and food shared next season. Donate today and you'll help us continue providing fair prices for farmers and fresh food for those that need it.

$50 provides a delivery of 25 quarts of grass-fed milk
$150 provides one pantry with approximately 35 servings of fresh, local produce
$500 provides a full week of vegetable delivery to all pantries

How it works: The Athens Community Farm establishes advance buying contracts with local Gang Greene Alliance farms to purchase fresh, locally-grown produce and dairy in consultation with area pantries. Farm volunteers then deliver purchased produce, along with any additional food donations. Each pantry receives an equal portion of the produce. Orders will be placed with participating farms in early 2024 with vegetable deliveries beginning in June and running through November. If possible, we'll continue dairy distribution year-round.

Community Shares is a collective effort of the Athens Community Farm, Gang Greene Farmer Alliance members, The Lo Farm, Nimble Roots Farm, Stoneberry Farm, End of the Lane Farm, the Coxsackie Food Pantry, the Athens Community Food Pantry, the Catskill Food Pantry, along with the Long Table Harvest gleaning organization.

After starting as a community-run micro-farm in 2021, the Athens Community Farm has supplied pantries with over 7000 servings of fresh, local vegetables, purchasing $13.5k in CSA shares from Greene County farms, while continuing to run a 24/7 free u-pick garden for residents. Pantry patrons enjoy the weekly offering of produce, while pantry staff said it was easy to manage distribution because the demand was there and the Farm handled the delivery.

The Gang Greene Farmer Alliance is a collective of independent farms working to improve the resiliency and strengthen the tradition of Greene County agriculture by sharing resources and knowledge, fostering farmer-to-farmer connections, and collaboratively addressing the interests of agricultural producers in our area. Through its diverse membership, the Community Shares program can offer a variety of organic vegetable and grass-fed dairy options to pantry partners.